I occasionally meet with people over coffee at Santa Fe in Kingston, New York. We discuss their credit and, with their permission, I post the details of our conversation here for your benefit.

Recently, I met with Alana. One of the reasons I chose to meet with Alana is because of the timeliness of Alana’s situation. So let me tell you a bit more about her: Alana is 21 years old and just graduating with a college degree. She is just writing exams for her final year in college and she’s currently applying for several jobs within her field of study.

I was eager for the opportunity to work with Alana and to share her discoveries with you. The reason is, Alana’s credit is passable (neither amazing nor horrible) and she is just starting out on her own. I liked Alana as my “personal challenge” for the next few blog posts because I don’t ONLY work with people whose credit is in bad shape; I also work with people whose credit is okay but could be better. Also, I think Alana is at an exciting stage in her life where she is making choices today that could affect her in the future.

Haven’t we all been there?

Well guess what: We still are. Sure, for some of us, we’re not facing a completely blank slate because it’s been a few years since college and our credit reports are a little thicker with our credit history. But we can change our credit story anyway. We’re not trapped by the past. Like Alana, we are all writing our destiny (at least, from a credit perspective) every day: The decisions we make each day can affect our credit. Unlike Alana, we might be trying to overwrite some bad credit decisions. But like Alana, we are all building new credit history with every borrowing and spending decision we make.

So be sure to follow along with Alana’s story over the next few blog posts. Our first meeting was pretty informal. Alana just told me a bit about herself and her goals in life. And I was SO HAPPY to hear her tell me that she knew the importance of good credit as a vital part of her financial future, because it meant that she could borrow money if and when she needed it, and she would save money (because of lower interest rates) when she did take out a loan. She also knew that her credit might be pulled by landlords and even prospective employers.

My only homework for Alana was to pull her credit reports and review them for next time. So stay tuned! I hope you’re as excited about Alana’s story as I am.

Jeanne Kelly is a sought-after speaker. She has captivated audiences on television, via webinar and at live events. She speaks on credit-related topics like credit scores, building healthier credit, rebuilding credit, and more. She happily customizes her speeches to audiences like college students, first time home buyers, consumers wanting to refinance loans and many others. If your audience will benefit from learning about credit, book Jeanne Kelly to speak at your event today!

Jeanne Kelly is an author, a speaker and a widely sought-after credit coach. Fifteen years ago, Jeanne was turned down for a mortgage and she realized that she needed to understand why and fix the problem.

Today, Jeanne has become one of the country’s foremost authorities on credit, credit reports and credit scores. She is the author of two books, she has appeared on The Today Show, The Lisa Oz Show, Blogs for the Huffington Post, Credit.com and her advice has helped thousands around the United States to build stronger and healthier credit.